Charlie Gard’s dad begs judge to let ‘apple of my eye’ son live as he clutches tot’s cuddly monkey

The eight-month-old tot's family have been fighting to take him to the US for treatment

By Brittany Vonow

5th April 2017, 2:50 pm

Updated: 13th April 2017, 4:10 pm

CHARLIE Gard's father has made a final plea with the court to save his son, begging: "He deserves this chance".

Clutching his eight-month-old son's toy monkey, Chris Gard today told the High Court: "My son is the apple of my eye and I would do anything for him."

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Chris Gard and Connie Yates arrived in court on Wednesday morning, with the dad still with Charlie's little monkey tucked into his pocket

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The parents of almost eight-month-old Charlie Gard, pictured, want to take him to the US for pioneering treatment

Describing himself as a proud dad, he added: "Me and Connie firmly believe that Charlie was sent to us to look after him. We truly believe these medicines work.

"If there was no improvement, we would let him go. We would never keep him like this. He deserves that chance, he has earned that chance."

He said that he knew the treatment in the US was not a cure but argued: "It doesn't mean he should have to die, (just) because he won't be a little boy running around. It should be a death sentence."

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The couple, pictured walking into court on Wednesday, could give evidence during the hearing

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Parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard are embroiled in a High Court dispute over the future of their baby

Parents of Charlie Gard vow they will never give up on their sick son

Mum Connie Yates echoed Mr Gard's plea and told the judge: "I don't see the rush to end it now."

She said she wanted her boy to be given the best chance at survival, saying: "I don't think he is suffering or I wouldn't be here.

"I don't think his brain function is as bad as what everyone else is saying."

Despite doctors saying Charlie should be taken off life-support and given palliative care, determined parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates have battled doctors right up to the the High Court to have their son undergo pioneering treatment in the US.

Their desperate plea comes after being dubbed a "spanner in the works" by a London doctor for their attempts to have their desperately ill son to be taken overseas for potentially life-saving treatment.

An email, written by a Great Ormond Street Hospital doctor, read: "The spanner in the works has been a parent-driven exploration of all alternatives internationally leading to a new specialist in New York who has recommended a three-month trial of nucleosides."

Probed over the wording by Sophia Roper, who is representing the parents, the medic admitted his wording was "clumsy", saying: "I was trying to suggest that our previous decision to take this to the court as urgently as we could was being held up by something being explored which needed to be explored."

The consultant said the little boy would most likely be able to survive the trip to the US for treatment but argued that his quality of life would be so bad that it wasn't in his best interests.

The court had heard this morning from a medic that there was no difference between the baby boy's brain function when he was asleep and awake, adding that Charlie needed a ventilator to survive.

But the testimony proved too much for mum Connie, who broke down in tears - saying "it's a lie" as she was led from the court sobbing after the judge rose to halt proceedings for five minutes.

Chris Gard and Miss Yates, who spend every waking hour with their baby boy, have been battling for desperately ill Charlie to be taken to the US for treatment.

But doctors argued in court that there was any evidence that the treatment would improve little Charlie's brain function.

The baby boy can move his fingers slightly but his lungs are completely supported by a ventilator, and GOSH specialists believe he is blind.

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Chris Gard has begged with the High Court to give his son a chance

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Connie Yates said that the family desperately wanted their boy’s life to be saved

Questioned by the hospital's QC Debra Powell, the medic this morning told the court that Charlie was no longer responsive, saying it was hard to be sure if the baby was in pain or was even responsive to his parents' loving touch.

He said: "I think that is really difficult to be certain about this.

"Charlie has deteriorated hugely since he first came to us."

The consultant, who cannot be named, added: "The disease has affected his brain to the extent that he is completely ventilator-dependent."

He said that the situation was "not a tolerable one" to leave a child in, saying: "It is really hard to see how he could possibly benefit (from treatment)."

He said that despite the hopes pinned on the pioneering treatment, the illness was "not just irreversible, it is progressive."

Miss Roper told the court that the parents had accepted their child had "poor quality of life" at the moment and wanted to see his health improve.

As the hearing resumed on Wednesday, Mr Justice Francis told the court: "I do fully understand that the parents are in an almost impossible situation."

Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Charlie is currently in intensive care, say he should be allowed to die in dignity and applied to the court for permission to switch off his ventilator.

His parents have been pushing to have their little boy flown to the US to undergo pioneering treatment that an American neurologist admitted had never been tried on someone in such a severe condition as Charlie.

The couple, who launched a GoFundme website two months ago, have been helped by more than 80,000 people who have donated money to their cause.

Their new target is £1.3m, inching closer to the huge amount of money raised.

I do fully understand that the parents are in an almost impossible situation

Mr Justice Francis High Court

Miss Yates said that if Mr Justice Francis decided against a journey to America, the couple would set up a charity for the syndrome.

She wrote: "A few people have asked us what we'll do if we don't win the court case. We have thought long and hard about it and we would set up a charity for mitochondrial depletion syndrome's (there are others that are more common than Charlie's specific gene).

"We'd like to save other babies and children because these medications have been proven to work and we honestly have so much belief in them.

"If Charlie doesn't get this chance we will make sure that other innocent babies and children will be saved.

"We would like some of it to go to research at the specific hospital that are willing to treat Charlie and the rest will be available to help other families to get the medication that their children desperately need.

"We hope that you can all support us in making treatments available so that nobody else ever has to go through what we have."

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Connie Yates looked down as she walked into the High Court on Wednesday

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Connie Yates, centre, has dedicated her time to researching the condition of her baby boy

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Chris Gard kisses Connie Yate's bump while pregnant with baby Charlie last year

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The parents of Charlie Gard want him to be flown to the USA where he can have nucleoside bypass therapy

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Charlie is believed to be one of only 16 people to ever have mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome

The family also shared a message, since removed, saying that more money was needed to "cover gofundme fee's" (sic).

A GoFundMe spokesman said on Tuesday: "Guidelines regarding our fees are stated clearly on our website and are standard for all campaigns. We are looking closely at Charlie's case as it develops."

Mr Justice Francis will have to decide whether to allow little Charlie to live or whether doctors should switch off his life support machine.